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VIEWS ON ANOTHER SIDE COMMENTS OF MR. THOMAS CLYDE ON MR. VOSBURGHS RECENT ARTICLE. Suggests Somo Racing Associations Do Not Add Enough of Their Own Money to Stakes Races Made Valuable Through Subscriptions. Open discussion is a good thing for any matter in controversy. It leads to presentation of different viewpoints and therein permits intelligent investigation. Last fall the Maryland Jockey Club announced certain departures from long established practices in regard to stake races. This elicited some caustic criticism from August Pelmont. Following, others aired their views. Recently Mr. Vosburgh in a letter to the Daily Racing Form eloquently advocated stake races of high value and pointed out the ways in which they conduce to the prosperity of racing and breeding. Writing from Salisbury. Maryland, under date of January 24, the well-known and respected breeder Thomas Clyde, says: "Perhaps you will permit me to say something til reply to Mr. Vosburghs plea for stake events, in your issue of January 23. "There is no official of the Jockey Club for whose opinions I have as much respect as for Mr. Vosburghs. and I agree with much that he says in the article referred to. "Wherever and whenever it can be shown that it is necessary for horsemen to run for their own money, in order to maintain racing of a quality helpful to breeders and attractive to the sport-loving public. I will support that system and I am sure my friends of the Maryland Jockey Club will do the same. "Rut, while racing associations, whose stockholders, for the most part, never bred or owned a race horse, pay iiividends of fifty per cent or any other amount over six per cent upon their capital invested in the conduct of race meetings. I cannot agree that the horsemen, who enable them to make their profits and who. even under most favorable conditions, seldom make any clear profit, should submit, without protest to being required by such racing associations to run for their own money. Some Racing Associations Arc Greedy. "It is and always has been the racing associations that pay large dividends that threaten the continuance of racing everywhere, for they have no excuse for taking such dividends except the admission that they do not expect to last long. "It is well known that, for years, tlie Maryland Jockey lub has limited its dividends to six per cent upon the 50,000 it has invested. All the stockholders of Pimlico get is S9.000 per annum, and they have no right to more so long as they claim to be sportsmen. Inder these conditions. Pimlico can offer liberal entry-free purses — -some as large as .0tK . Nevertheless Mr. Vosburgh would have Pimlico try to convert these ,000 purses into 0,000 stakes by closing them early and charging entry ftes and forfeits. I agree with Mr. Vosburgh that Pimlico could do this without any wrong to horsemen, because it would be first putting into the pot all its own profit ov°r six per cent before asking the horsemen to sweeten it. "Put what about the associations that tike fifty pet cent out of the pot and then ask the horsemen to "sweeten it. Is that fair? "If I understand the policy of Pimlico. it is to subject some of the greedy associations that are not only fattening on the horsemen but are also writing attacks upon racing geierally. to a little healthy competition. "If this should result in such associations putting into the pot all their profits over a reason ild" percentage, there will th"ii be no objection to asking the horsemen to sweeten it. "Very truly yours, "Thomas Clyde."
